Wrestlers win second straight home match

GREELEY – The homegrown talent got Northern Colorado Wrestling started on the right foot Saturday night against Chadron State, and the team never looked back, winning it second home match in four days.

The Bears (3-5) defeated Chadron State 29-12 and improved to 2-0 at home in 2011-12 with their second straight victory.

Junior Patrick Gomez, from Greeley, took the mat first at 184 pounds and pinned Jordan Debus in 5:33 for the early 6-0 team lead. Debus actually had a 3-0 lead heading into the third period, but Gomez got a reversal seven seconds in and 26 seconds later had the fall.

Sophomore Nick Bayer won a 4-1 decision at 197 pounds and led the entire bout. Freshman Henry Chirino got the crowd excited with a 12-3 major decision at heavyweight and fellow freshman Jesse Meis won a close 2-1 decision over Connor Larson at 125 pounds for a 16-0 team lead.

Sophomore Sam Bauer lost a hard-fought bout, 12-9 at 133 pounds, but he had fans, teammates and coaches all standing and screaming the in the final minutes. Dustin Stodola built an 11-4 lead through the first two periods and chose down to start the third. Bauer was able to roll Stodola and scored a three-point nearfall. Many in the stands felt Bauer had the pin, but Stodola got the escape. Bauer stayed aggressive and recorded the takedown with 15 seconds to pull within three, 12-9, but was unable to get any more points.

After a short intermission, Leandro Arias came out for Chadron State and got an overtime pin on senior Casey Cruz for six Eagles points.

Sophomore Justin Gonzales also had the crowd on its feet for the Bears. After no scoring in the first period, Gonzales escaped and recorded a takedown all within 10 seconds. He then got one of C.J. Clark's shoulders to the mat, recording two two-point nearfalls to extend his lead to 7-0, but time ran out before he got the second shoulder down. Gonzales added a takedown and riding time for the 10-0 major decision.

Redshirt freshman Charlie McMartin kept the excitement level high in Butler-Hancock Sports Pavilion with an 18-2 tech fall over Bruce Zurek in 6:37 and senior Gabe Burak posted a 10-0 major decision at 165 pounds for the Bears 29 points.

In the final bout of the night, Chadron State's Bret Klopp won a tight 7-5 decision over Josh Van Tine for the 29-12 final score.

The Bears now turn their attention towards Western Wrestling Conference action as they travel to Laramie for a match against Wyoming on Feb. 8 beginning at 7 pm.

184: Patrick Gomez (NC) fall Jordan Debus, 5:33                                 NC 6-0
197: Nick Bayer (NC) dec. Chris Leak, 4-1                                               NC 9-0
285: Henry Chirino (NC) major dec. Mike Hill, 12-3                             NC 13-0
125: Jesse Meis (NC) dec. Connor Larson, 2-1                                      NC 16-0
133: Dustin Stodola (CSC) dec. Sam Bauer (NC), 12-9                        NC 16-3
141: Leandro Arias (CSC) OT fall Casey Cruz (NC), 7:43                     NC 16-9
149: Justin Gonzales (NC) major  dec. C.J. Clark, 10-0                       NC 20-9
157: Charlie McMartin (NC) tech fall Bruce Zurek, 18-2 (6:37)       NC 25-9
165: Gabe Burak (NC) major dec. Mikah Kedera, 10-0                      NC 29-9
174: Josh Van Tine (NC) dec. Bret Klopp, 7-5                                        NC 29-12